Red Sox sign outfielder Andres Torres to minor-league deal

BALTIMORE — Perhaps in anticipation that the days of reserve center fielder Grady Sizemore might be numbered, the Red Sox signed veteran center fielder Andres Torres to a minor-league deal on Wednesday.

BALTIMORE — Perhaps in anticipation that the days of reserve center fielder Grady Sizemore might be numbered, the Red Sox signed veteran center fielder Andres Torres to a minor-league deal on Wednesday.

The 36-year-old Torres hasn’t played this season after hitting .250 with a .302 on-base percentage and a .342 slugging percentage for the San Francisco Giants last season. It was his second stint in San Francisco; his best season came when he helped the Giants win the 2010 World Series by hitting a career-best 16 home runs as well as a home run in Game Three of the World Series.

Torres will report to short-season Single-A Lowell this week and gradually work his way up the minor-league ladder. He under went surgery on his Achilles’ tendon last August.

“Recognizing that there’s an injury he’s coming back from, everything in his workouts right now suggests this is a worthy situation to take a look at,” Boston manager John Farrell said. “I don’t think we have a clear-cut time frame for this one. There’s no prescribed date that’s make-or-break.”

Torres is a switch-hitter with better career numbers from the right side of the plate, making him a strong fit for a Red Sox outfield with only one right-handed bat now (Jonny Gomes) and another returning at an undetermined date (Shane Victorino). He’s posted a respectable line of .265/.340/.397 in his career against lefties. He hit .291/.342/.376 against righties for the Giants last season — modest numbers, to be sure, but numbers that would measurably improve what has been a woeful Red Sox outfield to date.

Torres also is a capable defensive center fielder according to advanced defensive metrics, finishing on the positive side of the UZR ledger in center field in every season since 2009. That makes him a natural complement to Jackie Bradley Jr. as well as a depth option for the Red Sox should they decide to cut ties with the struggling Sizemore, who’s hitting .220 with a .291 on-base percentage and a .328 slugging percentage.

Sizemore appears to be safe until Victorino returns — as was the case with Stephen Drew, Torres probably isn’t ready for major-league games immediately — but if Sizemore were to be let go and Victorino suffered another injury, the Red Sox would have been left without a capable major-league center fielder.